Witchcraft Accusations as Gendered Persecution in Refugee Law

Abstract

In refugee applications involving witchcraft-related violence (WRV), those accused of witchcraft are largely women, and those fearing witchcraft are more often men. This is one of two interrelated articles reporting on cases where claimants feared harm from witchcraft or occult practices. It argues that WRV is a manifestation of genderrelated harm, one which exposes major failings in the application of refugee jurisprudence. Systemic inattention to the meaning and application of the Convention ground of religion, combined with gender insensitivity in analysis, meant that claims were frequently reconfigured by decision makers as personal grudges. The fear of witchcraft cases pose an acute ontological challenge to refugee status determination, as the claimed harm falls outside what is understood to be objective, verifiable, or Convention-related. Male applicants struggled to make their claims comprehensible as a result of the feminized and irrational' characterization of witchcraft fears and beliefs. INTRODUCTIOǸWitchcraft' is an umbrella term for beliefs and practices concerning supernatural powers and objects, which vary widely across communities, regions, and time. Witchcraft and sorcery form an integral part of everyday life in many countries, influencing how people understand the world and their place within it. 1 While witchcraft beliefs and practices are strongly 370

Rethinking Constructions of Difference: Lessons from Lesotho's Chief Mohlomi's Activism against the Gendering of Witchcraft

“…The gendering of witchcraft is not a new phenomenon in communities across Africa (Dehm & Millbank, 2019;Kgatla, 2020;Okonkwo et al, 2021;Singh & Msuya, 2019). Okonkwo et al (2021, p. 461) stated that since time immemorial in Africa, witchcraft has always been "skewed towards the female gender."…”

“…Although instances of female witchcraft accusations and persecution are prevalent in African communities, they are also spread throughout the world including Southeast Asia and Central America (Dehm & Millbank, 2019). These authors further noted that witchcraft-related violence (WRV) has, over the years, become a concern for international human rights organisations and activists.…”

“…These authors further noted that witchcraft-related violence (WRV) has, over the years, become a concern for international human rights organisations and activists. According to Dehm and Millbank (2019), the increasing international concern on WRV has been heightened by reported persecutions and murders directed at LGBTIQ+ communities due to beliefs that they are possessed by demons or bewitched. The increase in international attention to WRV and gender-based violence (GBV) directed at minority groups has been accompanied by a plethora of initiatives that provide rich data resources for exploring the nature of WRV in theory and in practice.…”

“…The increase in international attention to WRV and gender-based violence (GBV) directed at minority groups has been accompanied by a plethora of initiatives that provide rich data resources for exploring the nature of WRV in theory and in practice. Dehm and Millbank (2019) also stated that global nations have begun initiatives to monitor and criminalise GBV and WRV within their domestic jurisdictions by adopting legislations, policy reforms, and taskforces whose aim is to combat both. In addition to these practical solutions to GBV and WRV, there has been an emergent activist scholarship on gender issues (Morrell & Clowes, 2017), which has seen an increase in the documentation of human rights violations based on GBV and WRV (Dehm & Millbank, 2019).…”

An Illustration of Anthropology’s Contribution to Refugee Law Research

“…This opens up the possibility that a person claiming to have been persecuted may actually have violated the human rights of others by making accusations against them. 50 Clearly, a purely legal approach to the cases discussed here fails to capture the nuances of the practices and human rights violations associated with witchcraft beliefs in the countries of origin. Thus, I turned to anthropology in an effort to inject a greater degree of cultural awareness into case law and legal scholarship dealing with witchcraft beliefs and practices.…”